Last updated: 8 hours ago
Jimmy Riley was born Martin James Norman Riley on May 22, 1954 in Kingston, Jamaica. His first success came as a member of the Sensations (with <a href="spotify:artist:1FOvLj8sNCGHjgueUOVvJi">Cornell Campbell</a>, Aaron "Bobby" Davis, and his brother, Buster Riley), who recorded such hits as "Everyday Is Just a Holiday" for <a href="spotify:artist:5xMbd0qOdrycmi9KQZMmQF">Duke Reid</a>'s <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Treasure+Isle%22">Treasure Isle</a> label in the mid-'60s. Riley left the Sensations in 1967 and, with <a href="spotify:artist:2PuBpv31beJyhHfvXoku41">Slim Smith</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:3mSM2ALYf2unI6Hk6NGBmD">Lloyd Charmers</a>, became part of the second incarnation of <a href="spotify:artist:1EV3e39He1WLxcD1EjluLb">the Uniques</a>. The <a href="spotify:artist:1EV3e39He1WLxcD1EjluLb">Uniques</a> only lasted a little over a year, but recorded such enduring classics as "My Conversation" during that time. As a solo singer and writer, Riley worked with a host of Jamaican producers, including <a href="spotify:artist:79gBZXBZwJs2cBerjhgAxI">Bunny Lee</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:1TsG4AumsMt1Tcq2nHpov9">Lee "Scratch" Perry</a>, before settling in with <a href="spotify:artist:6jJG408jz8VayohX86nuTt">Sly & Robbie</a> in the early '80s, whose production on Riley's version of <a href="spotify:artist:3koiLjNrgRTNbOwViDipeA">Marvin Gaye</a>'s "Sexual Healing" helped the song top the reggae charts in 1983. He all but retired from music in the '90s, raising a family that included his son <a href="spotify:artist:4frHO7KPcfMjhnVdIMJ98c">Tarrus</a>, who followed in his father's footsteps and became one of the leading figures in the neo-roots revival of the 2000s. The elder Riley returned to music in 2009 with the album Pull Up Selector, which featured <a href="spotify:artist:4frHO7KPcfMjhnVdIMJ98c">Tarrus</a> as guest. Contradiction followed in 2013, then Riley retreated from music again, this time to battle cancer, a disease that took the singer's life on March 23, 2016. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
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